Transporter
The transporter is a device capable of almost-instantaneously moving an object from one location to another. Transporters are able to dematerialize, transmit and reassemble an object. The act of transporting is often referred to as "beaming." History Transporters were being used by most spacefaring civilizations for short-range transport of personnel or equipment. The main advantage of this form of transport was twofold, on a planetary scale small vehicles or spacecrafts where no longer needed to go from one place to another, someone who lived in San Francisco could beam to Paris in the morning and be home for dinner at the end of the day. The other advantage was that this transport method was almost instantaneous, when beaming from Paris at 16:30 hours one would be home in San Francisco at 16:31 hours so traveling time was almost non-existent. Compare this to 21st century traveling when it took roughly 10 to 12 hours to travel from Paris to San Francisco by aeroplane. Harry Kim transported frequently from Starfleet Academy to his parents in South Carolina. Although the first transporters were not that reliable, the first versions were only cleared for non-biological transports, they would became the most reliable form of short-range transport in the 24th century. Federation transporters do not differ much from other species transporters. This has to do with the laws of physics, transporters disassemble and reassemble lifeforms or objects and no species, besides the Q, can change those laws. So although the basic scientific principles are the same the way transporters are build and designed differ from species to species. 24th century Federation transporters show a distinct blue sparkle when used, while Klingon transporters show a red/orange sparkle. Another difference is the speed by which a transporter operate. When compared to the Hunters, a Gamma Quadrant species, transporter device the Federations transporter is slow. The maximum range of a transporter differs per species, it all depends what kind of technologies they used to build it. The transporter with the longest range known is the one the Sikaris build. It has a range of about thirty light-years but this is only due to their planets large quartz mantle which amplifies their transporter signal. Because of this their transporter technology only functions on their planet, nowhere else. First use Following its invention by Emory Erickson in 2139, the [[Enterprise (NX-01)|NX-01 Enterprise]] was one of the first Starfleet starships to be equipped with a transporter authorized for transporting biological objects, though it was rarely used. However, it was used more frequently when Enterprise was in the Delphic Expance, mainly due to the sense of urgency. A typical transport sequence for the beam-down of a person begins with a coordinate lock during which the destination is verified and programmed,via the targeting scanners. Next, the lifeform to be beamed is scanned on the quantum level and simultaneously converted to a matter stream. This process is determined by an annular confinement beam (ACB). The matter stream is briefly stored in the pattern buffer tank and then transmitted through an emitter pad. Finally, the person is reassembled at the destination. Transporter types Personnel Personnel transporter rooms usually consist of an operation console, a transporter platform and an overhead molecular imaging scanner, primary energizing coils and phase transition coils. A pattern buffer with a biofilter is located on the deck below the room. The outer hull of a starship incorporates a number of emitter pads for the transporter beam. Personnel transporters work on the quantum level and employ Heisenberg compensators to enable secure transport of lifeforms. Biofilters that are built into the the transporter systems prevent dangerous microorganisms to board the ship. Cargo Cargo transporters are larger scale versions of Personnel transporters and are optimized for the transport of inanimate objects, in case of an emergency cargo transporters can be reset to quantum level modus, making lifeform transport possible. Limitations Shields In general, Transporters cannot be used while the deflector shield system of a ship is active, or a deflector shield is in place over the destination. However, it is possible to take advantage of EM "windows" that are created by the normal rotation of shield frequencies. During these peroids, a hole is opened which a transporter beam can punch through. This timing must be absolute and usually requires substantial computer assistance. This technique was theorized and first practiced in 2367 by USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) Transporter Chief Miles Edward O'Brien (TNG: "The Wounded") Warp speed Transporters cannot be used while a ship is at warp speeds because of the severe spatial distortions caused by the warp field. (TNG: "The Schizoid Man") The exception to this rule is if both ships maintain the exact velocity (i.e. the warp field on both vessels must have the same integral value/factor). Failure to maintain the same velocities will result in severe loss of the ACB and pattern integrity. Transport at warp is highly dangerous and has been attempted safely only once. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I") Near-warp transport is also possible, but requires extensive adjustments to the transport procedure. Persons who have experienced this form of transport have remarked that there was a sensation of being merged with an inanimate object briefly before the transporter beam reassembled them. (TNG: "The Schizoid Man") Range The 24th century transporter maximum range is about 40,000 km., though a special type of transport, called subspace transport can beam over several lightyears. Many 24th century starships are equipped with an emergency transporter system, but these only have a range of at best ten kilometers. (VGR: "Future's End, Part I"). Radiation and Substances Some forms of radiation and substances prevent transporters from working or from transports to occur. Examples of radiation and substance limitations are: *Thoron Radiation Special Operations Disabling Active Weapons To prevent accidental injury to personell or damage to equipment, the transporter has the capability to disable any weapon active during transport. This can be accomplished by removing the discharged energy from the transporter signal(TNG:"The Most Toys") Connecting two transporters When necessary transporters can be bridged. This means that two transporters can be connected to each other in the event beaming is not possible due to ionic or some other type of interference. The transport duration is twice as long and the sequence differs from a normal transport. First a remote link to the other transporter has to be established then the system interlock needs to be engaged and the pattern buffers of both transporters are synchronized. When the phase transition coils are in stand-by modus energizing can commence. A side-effect of this form of transport might be that the person who is beamed might feel a slight tingling due to static. (TNG:"Realm of Fear") Removing microbes who exists as energy and matter ; Theory : Suspend the person in mid-transport at the point where matter will loose its cohesion at this time molecules will begin to emit nucleonic particles and the biofilter can be used to scan for the microbe pattern. This procedure needs to be performed within thirty to fourty seconds upon energizing. After fifteen seconds into the procedure the person might feel light-headed. ;Transporter sequence : Initialize pattern buffer, when stand-by energize and at sixty percent molecular resolution engage static mode. Start the biofilter scan and keep the molecular resolution above fifty percent, if this is not the case abort procedure or the persons pattern is lost. When there is difficulty in identifing the microbe pattern increase the phase-transition frequency. When pattern found program the biofilter, execute and re-materialize the person. (TNG:"Realm of Fear") "Site-To-Site" Transport By 2364, limitations in pattern buffer and targeting scanner technology had been sufficiently overcome that it was now possible to transport from one location directly to another without the need to re-materialize the subject in between. This operation is enabled and controlled by the Site-To-Site Transporter Interlock.(TNG:"Brothers")Site to site transport holds the matter stream in the pattern buffer while the ACB is re-targeted. Afterwards, the matter stream is redirected to the new location and normal re-materialzation is carried out. This procedure is particularly useful in emergency medical situations where time is of the essence. Subjects can be beamed directly to sickbay where treatment can be carried out quickly. (Star Trek: First Contact) Using this technique, any computer terminal with acces to the main transporter sub-systems or any applicable sub-routine can be used to control transporter operations, including bridge terminals. (Star Trek: Nemesis) This technique can only be utilised when suffcient source energy is available to the transporters, and all normal transporter limitations still apply. Even given this technique, the transporter rooms are still an important staging and reception area with the greatest amount of override and emergency operations available. Transporter rooms are still maintained and manned during all normal duty cycles. Transporter Trace The transporter trace is stored copy of a subjects molecular pattern as scanned during a normal transporter cycle. While it is usually stored for security purposes, in extreme situations the transporter can be modified to use an older trace pattern in place of the latest scan for the purpose of re-configuring the matter stream during molecular conversion, effectively replacing a subject with an older version of itself during matter re-construction. This technique was devised by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lt. Commander Data and implemented by Lt. Geordi LaForge , Commander William Riker , and Cheif Miles O'Brien during a mission to the Darwin Genetic Research Station in 2365 . (TNG:"Unnatural Selection") Transporter accidents Though transporters are a quite safe way to get from one point to another there are still cases of transporter accidents: *TOS: "The Enemy Within" *TOS: "Mirror, Mirror" *TOS: "The Tholian Web" *TNG: "Second Chances" *VOY: "Tuvix" *Star Trek: The Motion Picture *ENT:"Daedalus" Because of these accidents, some people are suffering from transporter phobia. Related topics biofilter, site-to-site transport interlock, transporter chief External * Star Trek.com: Notable Transporter Mishaps de:Transporter